1. Field of the Inventions
The present invention relates to exchange-traded equity securities, and particularly to a method and system for securitizing a physical commodity.
2. Background Information
There are many barriers to owning certain commodities that have prevented investors from investing in the commodities, which, in turn, can lead to an undervaluing of the commodities. Gold present a classic example of a commodity that has historically been undervalued because, in part, to the difficulty in storing and transporting physical gold. Currently, a common method for sophisticated investors, e.g., institutional investors and/or their clients, to invest in gold is through the shares of gold producers or in structured notes, e.g., gold linked derivatives, issued by money center financial institutions. For individual retail investors, however, the historical barriers have been even more daunting. For example, a common practice for the individual investor wishing to own gold is to buy gold coins or jewelry. The downside to this approach is that the investor must then find a way to store and secure the gold that they own, which can be costly. Moreover, such an investor will likely have to take out insurance in case the gold is stolen or lost, which adds further costs to owning gold for the individual investor.
Thus, liquidity in the gold market has been restricted, leading to under valuation, because of the difficulty and costs associated with transporting and storing the physical gold. While some may be willing to take on the burden and risk of owning the physical metal, many mainstream investors consider investment in physical gold to be prohibitive. Rather, many such investors prefer to invest in the shares of generic, highly liquid gold mining companies.
Although gold mining shares appeal to those seeking their considerable leverage to changes in the gold price, they incorporate business risks that clash with the fundamentally conservative and risk adverse reasoning that might attract a wider audience to gold. This is because the business of mining gold can be subject to various uncertainties, including geological, labor, regulatory and environmental, financial, and political risks. Conversely, ownership of the physical metal does not exhibit such risks. The same cannot be said for the gold linked structured notes, or derivatives, issued by financial institutions such as money center banks or investment houses. These instruments are backed not by gold but by the credit of the issuing institution. They are often easy to buy and next to impossible to sell.
Accordingly, there is no existing mechanism that facilitates trading in gold, or certain other commodities, in such a way as to overcome the historical barriers that have led to under valuation.